Proposal to set up dept to deal with mental health problems

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has urged the Health Ministry to set up a dedicated department to deal with mental health problems in the workplace.

Its chairman, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said currently the ministry has only a unit to deal with mental matters in the workplace.

He said the setting up of the department was important as ignoring mental health and psychosocial factors in the workplace could be detrimental to employees, productivity, efficiency and production.

Local universities also need to produce more psychologists to offset the shortage as the country has only 100 psychologists, 10 of them in the public sector, he told reporters after opening a seminar on mental health matters in the workplace here, Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Lee urged the government to speed up the guidelines on mental health management in the workplace in an effort to create a healthier working environment.

"I understand that this is being addressed by the ministry. However, it should be expedited as mental health problems, especially among workers, are getting serious," he said, adding that the guidelines would enable employers and employees to find the best method to minimise the risks of mental health in the workplace.